


Spiral.

by danbaihe



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood, College, Cult Rituals, Cults, Halloween, Horror, M/M, Multi, Oops, Psychological Horror, Psychological Trauma, Rituals, Vampire!Chan - Freeform, Vampire!Minho, Vampires, halloween fic, kind of, read the tw before each chapter in notes, vampire!changbin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:29:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27216460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danbaihe/pseuds/danbaihe
Summary: “Swallow.”  Changbin repeated a little more forcefully, clamping his still bleeding hand over Felix’s nose- no.  It wasn’t still bleeding.  It should’ve been.  How the hell did it heal so fast?Felix soon realized that his air was being cut off.  If he didn’t swallow he’d suffocate.  He thought maybe he could take it.  Suffocate in front of Changbin.  Make Changbin, his boyfriend, (definitely ex-boyfriend at this point) watch.  He’s trying to get him to drink his fucking blood, after all.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Han Jisung | Han, Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Bang Chan/Seo Changbin, Han Jisung | Han/Kim Seungmin, Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin, Lee Minho | Lee Know/Seo Changbin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 91





	1. Control me.

**Author's Note:**

> this chapter does and will make no sense w/o the other two chapters lol sorry not sorry (sorry)  
> in a ladida tune
> 
> n e ways, halloween fic. enjoy.
> 
> TW//blood, dolls (?), ritual sacrifice/ritual killing kind of, manipulation

An exhale.

"We shouldn't be here when it gets dark." Felix said.

"I know."

"We should get back in the car, babe. Like now."

"Okay! Okay- just, one second. I want to get a picture."

"Of what?"

"Of the circle carved into the ground."

"...I don't like it. We should get out of here. It looks more like a spiral anyways."

"That's your reasoning for why we should leave?" A chuckle.

"Changbin. Come the fuck on. I'm not playing around, I hate it here."

"Fine. Fine. Let's go."

The two men got back in the car. Changbin in the driver's seat. Felix in the passenger seat. The sun was almost completely set.

"Let's go home." Felix said, pulling his phone out of his pocket, the screen illuminating his face. Changbin seemed to chuckle slightly as he started the car, engine rumbling as he turned the car around and started down on the gravel road. 

"Yes sir." He murmured, humming as he drove down the mountain side.

"What do you think that spiral in the ground was?" Felix asked, tilting his head.

"I don't know. What do you think?" Changbin asked, glancing over to the other boy's phone.

"I think that it's connected to the other ones we saw. I just didn't like the dolls in the town before it." Felix said, scrolling through the images on his phone. “It’s weird. It’s why I chose it for my project but it’s still fucking weird.”

Changbin sighed. "We're coming up on it again. It's creepy as shit if you ask me." He murmured. The 'town' was a few scattered buildings. Like they were made for people smaller than humans. They were old houses too, which made it even more creepy. Felix shivered as he looked out the window.

"Who the fuck just poses a bunch of dolls at the windows and shit? It's awful." Felix murmured, shivering.

"According to your and Jisung's research it was part of a ritual." Changbin responded, going through the scattered buildings carefully.

"You read that?" Felix asked, turning to Changbin.

"Of course I read that. I wanted to know what the fuck you needed my car for."

"And?"

"How the hell did they decide dolls were going to instill fear into their victims?" Changbin asked, tapping the steering wheel as he drove through.

"I don't know. There's a lot of blind spots." Felix said. "But there's one of these at every mark we've found so far. So if it's not fear, then what would it be?" He asked.

The car sputtered and stopped, engine dying down as the headlights slowly blinked until they were off completely. Changbin stared, shocked. "What the hell?" He asked, turning his key. The ignition responded but the car never fully turned on.

"Oh you're fucking kidding me." Felix said, putting his hand to his head and leaning against the car door. Then he angrily hit the dashboard. "Shit!" He yelled.

"Calm down- I'm sure I can get the car working again." Changbin said, opening his door as he stepped out, slamming it rather forcefully. He walked around slowly to the front of the car. Felix's window was rolled down because Changbin's ac had been broken. Changbin opened the front panel. "What's the problem?" Felix called from the window.

"Nothing. It looks perfectly fine." Changbin said, sighing as he closed the car. "Should we just call Chan?" He asked.

Felix opened up his call app and pressed Chan's contact number.

"No signal." Felix sighed. "Shit. I guess we're walking." Changbin replied.

"I guess." Felix didn't move to get out of the car. Instead, he fished his pockets for a cigarette. "You have a lighter?" He called out to Changbin, putting the small roll of tobacco to his lips.

"Yeah." Changbin looked to the side, walking to Felix's side of the car slowly, fishing through his pockets for a red lighter.

He fumbled with it for a few seconds before lighting Felix's cigarette, Felix sighing and taking a drag before unbuckling himself.

"They're onlookers. To remake what old towns looked like."

"What?"

"The dolls."

Felix was silent as he stared at Changbin, the two sharing at least a minute of silence. It was uncomfortably long.

"I never shared any of my project details with anyone besides Jisung, and he hasn't even met you." Felix said, eyes widening in realization. "There's no way you could've read what I had unless you went through my things...or...unless you..."

Fuck.

"...unless you already knew."

"Felix. C'mon. Let's go." Changbin said.

"I don't want to." Felix's reply was immediate. He could hear it in his voice. He was panicked.

"Felix." Changbin sighed. "Get out of the car." Changbin said, glancing away from the car door, like it would help Felix feel better.

"I don't want to." Felix repeated. 

"Felix." Changbin's voice dropped a semi-playful tone, and he turned back towards the car.

"No."

Changbin went for the car door first, finding it locked. Felix backed up, hands knocking over loose change and Changbin's water bottle.

"C'mon Felix." Changbin taunted, reaching through the window for the other's leg. Felix panicked and screamed out, aggressively kicking at Changbin's arm with his free leg. Changbin yelled out and drew his arm back, cigarette falling from Felix's lips as he tried to climb over the console, heading for the driver seat's window.

But Changbin was faster.

Almost impossibly so.

Felix screamed as Changbin managed to grab his arm through the window, not even sure how he got there so fast. He pulled back, but it was almost as if Changbin had some sort of super strength.

Felix tried to go back as far as he could, but it was no use. With his free arm, he reached for something, anything he could use to hit the other with. His fingers touched the cigarette briefly and he glanced back only for a moment to grab hold of it. He pulled back from the window, Changbin reaching forward to pull him again. Felix acted fast, driving the cigarette into the other's face, not really looking to see where it went before quickly unlocking the door and kicking it open, it collided with Changbin, the man falling over.

"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck-" Felix-” Felix repeated the word like it was his saviour. Like if he said one more cuss, maybe god, if there was a god, would pity him and let him go free. Maybe this was a dream, whatever the fuck this was.

He was running. Changbin would get up soon. He ran into one of the houses, ducking his head through the small doorway, immediately climbing up the toddler-sized stairs. Seriously, these houses were made for people who were like, three to four feet tall. It was weird.

What did Changbin say? They were...remakes of what old towns looked like? Onlookers?

It was real wood. Real building material. Odd. Usually houses like these are just plastic or some shit. It was much bigger than a kid’s playhouse, but too small to be an actual house. A tiny house maybe? But the structure was like a normal house, and when these ritualistic spots were first made, compact housing on wheels wasn’t really a trend...considering it was hundreds of years ago.

Felix crawled into the back furthest room, managing to get through the doorway with a little trouble. He pulled out his phone. When did the screen crack? Oh well, could he call the police? He turned the volume down as he dialed 911. No service still. Fuck. Fuck. He decided to voice record instead.

“Fuck.” A pause. “Don’t trust anyone who knows about the project, Jisung. Do you fucking hear me?? Trust no one. And especially not Changbin or any fucking one of Changbin’s friends. That motherfucker knew about the towns before the ritual sites. He said they were uh…” He tried hard to remember the words Changbin used. “Fuck...he said they were Remakes of what old towns looked like. Around the sites. Towns must’ve been burned. And he said the dolls were onlookers. Don’t tell anyone about this.” He whispered into his phone’s microphone, freezing as he heard what sounded like Changbin angrily yelling. He froze in place before crawling to the window.

“Where the hell are you Felix!?” Changbin yelled out, snarling. What the fuck? Felix clamped a hand over his mouth as he moved back, knocking over a nice wooden chair that looked like it was made for a toddler to sit in it. Instead, there was a doll in the chair. It fell over as well, porcelain face smashed against the hardwood floor. Felix gasped as he clamped a hand over his mouth, tears hot as they rolled down his cheeks. He started to hyperventilate as he heard Changbin’s laughter outside of the house. He looked out the window to see Changbin staring straight at him. 

“Shit.” He murmured, falling back and quickly crawling to the hallway again. He could hear Changbin downstairs. “C’mon lix. Make this easier for me hm?” Changbin sounded like he was enjoying himself. Felix realized there was an attic opening, and quietly put his phone into his pocket, leaving it recording as he slowly started to pull on the string, attic entrance opening. He quickly grabbed the ladder before it could fall, slowly pulling it down. He could hear Changbin crawling around downstairs. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck what the shit what the fuck-

“Yongbokkie...I’m sure we can go home or whatever okay? Never talk about this again? I care about you, you know...It was just one slip up. Really.” Changbin said, starting to crawl up the stairs. When he got to the second floor, there was no Felix to be seen. The hallway looked normal. Changbin crawled to the front room where he saw the doll knocked over.

He gasped.

“Mama...I’m so sorry.” He murmured.

Felix had one hand over his mouth as he listened to Changbin from the attic. Mama? What the fuck? Was he talking about the doll? Felix pulled out his phone and stopped recording, sending the recording to Jisung. His phone was at 82%. He’d have to hope for the best. It didn’t deliver, but he didn’t need it to right this second. He closed out every app except for those two apps and turned down the screen brightness, quickly creating a hole in the inside of his coat. Silencing the phone and stuffing it in. Hopefully it won't be found. He crawled to the attic window, slowly starting to open it, pausing as soon as he heard a creak. He winced, listening for Changbin under him. Changbin’s crawling was heard, but he seemed to go back down to the first floor. Felix wondered if he should stay in the attic. He turned and crawled back towards the front of the house, wondering briefly why the attic had two windows, but not questioning it. Changbin wasn’t there.

“You shouldn’t leave the window open little bokkie~” A voice whispered in Felix’s ear. It wasn’t Changbin’s. Felix gasped and tried to move, but was held in place by the other’s arms wrapped around his torso and holding his throat, which was weird, because he hadn’t even felt them until the very second that whoever was behind him pulled him back, Felix unsure how he had been dragged out of the cramped space so fast.

“He crushed mother.” Was the first thing Changbin said, angry as Felix was forced to walk back towards the spiral, Felix noting the odd choice of words. “And like everyone else we’ve lost we’ll give her a proper burial. Help me Changbin. He’s the one you want, isn’t he?”

The voice was so smooth. He sounded just like…

“...Minho?” Felix struggled as soon as he made the realization, but it was no use. Minho’s grip tightened and Felix felt his airway be cut off. He gasped and pawed at Minho’s hand with his free arm but it was no use.

“Yes! Yes I want him- Let’s just- Just get this over with. I don’t want him to hurt too much…”

Was Changbin worried? After being angry?

“Talk about an abusive boyfriend.” Felix wheezed out, unable to really cope with not knowing what was going on, but knowing that his life was in danger. 

“Awh…” Minho cooed. “You’re so cute. Do you talk back like that a lot?” He asked, and Felix could feel the taunting connotation in his bones. Man, fuck you too. Shit.

“What’s- What’s going on?” Felix asked, wheezing out his question, coughing a little.

“Changbin wants you.” Minho said, like his response answered all of Felix’s questions.

“As what?” Felix asked.

“As a bride.”

Felix isn’t sure why, but the answer sent chills down his spine. He realized that Minho and Changbin had been guiding him back towards the spiral. He struggled suddenly, kicking and yelling until he managed to break free for a moment- turning around to push a stunned Minho back. As soon as he made eye contact with the elder, his body went limp and his brain felt like it was filled with static.

“Wha…” His words started to slur as he fell into Minho, Minho chuckling as his head hit the dancer’s chest.

“At least now you won’t squirm.” Minho said, opting to just pick up Felix and bring him to an odd contraption in the center of the spiral that was carved into the ground.

Felix couldn’t move, and he knew that rationally, it should’ve been sending his mind into a panic. But he couldn’t panic. He could barely focus.

“Awh. Do you need help moving now?”

 _yes._ Felix thought, panicked. _please, yes. I don’t want to die._

It seemed like Minho could almost read his thoughts, but ignored them. He was lifted up onto the contraption. Upon further inspection it looked almost like a throne.

“I’m so sad I couldn’t pick out a wedding dress for you Or, really, maybe even a blouse and dress pants. You would’ve looked so good. But no one willingly does these anymore, so we have to work with what we have.” Changbin’s words started to have longer stretches between each syllable, Minho seemingly focusing on making Felix feel comfortable in the chair. Minho’s touch felt hot to Felix, so much so that it almost burned him. He really wanted it to stop.

And the chair- the chair was all sorts of uncomfortable. He was convinced he was drugged because he was also convinced that the chair was wrapping around him.

“But it’s okay baby. We’ll be together now.” Changbin was cupping his face. “And you won’t be...living such a short life anymore. You won’t be sick like your father, Lixie. You’ll have me. And we’ll be together for a long time, okay?” Changbin’s hands moved from Felix’s face, to his neck, to his chest, and then back up to his face. Changbin’s eyes looked over Felix like he was trying to remember every last detail.

“I’m going now. Enjoy your night Changbin, you deserve it.” Minho said. Felix could see him move for only a moment in the very corner of his vision and then- he was just _gone_. Like he had never even been there in the first place. Maybe it was the static in Felix’s brain that was making it hard to think.

“I do deserve it.” Changbin muttered, laughing a little to himself. Chuckling softly, like he was in disbelief. Felix could see he was bouncing his leg slightly, like he was nervous almost, but Felix didn’t know why.

Felix realized he was finally able to speak, and a string of sounds forming pleas left his lips.

“Changbin- Changbin please...I don’t know what you’re...please just let me go.” Was he sobbing? He could feel the tears run down his cheeks. The fuzziness in his brain started to settle. The fear was coming back. The adrenaline. Felix knew Minho had something to do with it.

“No- no no. Shh. This way, we...we can be together for a long time.” It was almost like Felix wasn’t there. This Changbin was much different from any previous notions Felix had about his boyfriend. He was childlike, believing this one true fantasy that would happen, not listening to anything else. Felix remembered the doll.

“Changbin. We can’t...no one is together for a long time.” Felix was out of breath. He still couldn’t move the rest of his body. Changbin seemed to be fixated on this vision he had of them together, and paired with the knowledge of Felix’s project and literally hunting him down- the younger could only assume the worst.

“But we can be.” Changbin was on his knees, in front of Felix as his hands were on the other’s, comforting him. His hands were ice cold. How had Felix not noticed before?

Changbin brought out a knife. Felix froze. “What’re you…” He started to whisper, cut off by his own scream as Changbin brought down the knife on his own hand, watching the blood pour out unphased.

“What the fuck- what the-” Felix was crying, squirming in his seat, trying to break free of the bonds that were pushing him further into the seat.

“Shhh….no no- it’s okay baby, it’s okay. Look!” Changbin brought his hand closer to Felix, Felix hating the feeling of his clothing even getting slightly wet from the sticky substance. It was too dark to see it properly- it just looked like black oil to him.

Suddenly, Changbin’s hand was on his mouth. Holding it in place. Felix desperately tried to move his head as his eyes widened in horror, realizing what Changbin was about to do. His desperate wails and pleas for the other to stop all sounded the same as Changbin’s hand came closer. And then the blood hit his tongue.

He was able to identify the salty, rustic taste almost immediately, and cringed immediately. Everything about the other’s blood in his mouth felt wrong. His tongue was coated in it, and some was spilling out of his mouth. Changbin forced his mouth closed. “Swallow.” Changbin whispered. Felix didn’t move a muscle, staring into Changbin’s unrecognizable eyes with his own brown ones.

“Swallow.” Changbin repeated a little more forcefully, clamping his still bleeding hand over Felix’s nose- no. It wasn’t still bleeding. It should’ve been. How the hell did it heal so fast?

Felix soon realized that his air was being cut off. If he didn’t swallow he’d suffocate. He thought maybe he could take it. Suffocate in front of Changbin. Make Changbin, his boyfriend, (definitely ex-boyfriend at this point) watch. He’s trying to get him to drink his fucking blood, after all.

When the pressure became too much for Felix’s head and his eyes were bulging as he felt his vision start to go, and when he felt his throat constricting at his body’s realization of the lack of air- even when he tried to thrash as much as he could, thorns digging deeper into his body and drawing blood from what exposed skin he had- Felix, ultimately, gave up. Changbin watched with glee as Felix panicked and gulped, the blood going down his throat almost immediately.

It fucking _burned_. That was the only way Felix could describe it.

It burned down his throat, and it burned as he felt it spread throughout his body.

“Good boy.” Changbin praised happily as he let go of Felix’s nose and mouth, Felix immediately coughing and gasping for breath before screaming out in pain- sometimes even alternating between the two. The pain made him want to move but the more he moved the worse he made it. “It burns!” He screamed out, sobbing. “It burns so bad! I’m so sorry!” Hot tears were running down his face again as he apologized, although he wasn’t sure what for.

Changbin caressed his cheek and smiled fondly at him.

“Baby...baby it’s okay. It’ll stop soon, okay?” He promised. A few tears fell down his own cheeks, and if Felix could, he would’ve spit at him. His compassion to the pain _he_ was causing was _disgusting _, and Felix just wanted it to end.__

__Changbin moved Felix’s head to the side slightly, so that his neck was exposed. He pulled down on Felix’s coat and sweatshirt underneath._ _

__Then Felix felt two foreign objects suddenly stabbing at his skin. They were small, but not small enough to be a needle._ _

__Then they pierced his skin._ _

__Felix let out another scream._ _


	2. I want to be evil.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're playing a very dangerous game Hwang Hyunjin." Minho warned, chuckling.
> 
> "You started it." Hyunjin whispered, eyes gleaming with excitement. He liked playing games. He definitely liked having someone to play with.
> 
> "So I did."
> 
> "And I'll be the one to finish it."
> 
> "Hmm...I like your confidence, dear."
> 
> _Dear._
> 
> Interesting.
> 
> "I like that you think it's just confidence." Hyunjin said with a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Calm before I violently kill everyone at least once <3
> 
> Songs listened to while making this Chapter:  
> Bop it up - The Marías  
> I want to be evil - BOGA

Hyunjin had a weird fascination with fucked up things.

It was probably why in college he was studying crime forensics. 

Really, he just wanted to be an artist. He had a comic he drew over the years and had spent so much time on- he even posted it online and it had a small following. He worked hard on it. The comic itself was part of Hyunjin's obsession- it was Hyunjin's pride and joy. If his friends asked about it, he simply said it was him applying his study of people to a horror comic he drew. That was it.

But when he started the comic he had started because he had been reading up on an analysis of a man who had murdered his entire family in order to 'save' them (from what, it was never specified), and then had set his house on fire.

Hyunjin remembers reading the article. He was in highschool around then. His closest friend, Seungmin, never really understood his obsession with specifically how the people in these cases _thought_ , but the younger figured it was better than Hyunjin's lowkey cannibal obsession junior year, so he let it go.

Seungmin and Jisung were used to his jumping from one weird, kind of disturbing fascination to another, and they learnt to just let it happen, because, eventually, Hyunjin would move on.

Except, in this case, he didn't.

Now Hyunjin is not manipulative. At least, not inherently. He doesn't try to be and, at first, he didn't really want to be. And then, gradually, the world fell to shit and Hyunjin found himself relying on those analysis videos as a coping mechanism. For months, he was stuck in a cycle of isolating himself from everyone else, continuing to feed his fascination surrounding what made a crazy person a criminal and what didn't. Somewhere in there, he had a period of just research on cults- and he thinks that maybe, that's when his personality did a 180.

When, his friends thought he left without any say (and Jisung, who always assumed the worst, was afraid he offed himself), finally saw him after a little over half a year of no contact, they expected him to look dead. Maybe sick. Maybe obviously depressed, because that's what it was wasn't it? Hyunjin fed so much into his coping mechanism that they became his obsession and his depression never improved. It was the only logical explination.

Except, when Hyunjin finally showed up on college campus- the college he agreed to apply for two years ago with the rest of his friends and never did until very recently- he looked perfectly normal. Or, well, normal for Hyunjin. Which was definitely a kind of 'this is his world and we're just living in it' thought process for everyone else when they saw him walk on campus, Hyunjin almost floating past.

He didn't really expect for himself to be mimicking what he'd spend so much time reading and researching about before hand, and he _certainly_ didn't expect for himself to start mimicking his friends when he came back.

Of course, mimicking is something humans subconsciously do without realizing. They just want to appear more a part of a group and so, sometimes they will mimic small actions, or overtime, develop a similar trait. The most common, Hyunjin noticed, were small fidgets and actions when talking with that friend group.

When Seungmin and Jisung got over their initial first week shock of Hyunjin suddenly appearing back in their lives, void of sharing any of his new, weird, hyperfixations ("you're really over it?? All of it?? Oh god, you didn't murder someone did you?" Seungmin asked the first conversation Hyunjin had with him when he came back. "Yeah. I decided to just focus on career stuff. Since I can't get the dance scholarship I'll just focus on my art and forensic science stuff instead." He said, brushing it off like he had never even hyperfixated on literal cults in the first place.), they got used to the quieter, less dramatic Hyunjin that he hadn't even meant to portray personality wise, but stuck with.

And then, there was Minho.

Lee Minho.

Beautiful.

A god, if Hyunjin had ever seen one.

And definitely, Hyunjin's new obsession.

Okay, it's not good to be obsessed with a person. But, Hyunjin wasn't planning on murdering him or anything, and Minho seemed as fixated on Hyunjin as Hyunjin was on Minho, and that boosted Hyunjin's ego a little too much.

It started with Felix's project for a class that Hyunjin didn't even know existed (it was something to do with history and the paranormal), and honestly, Felix was as hyperfixated on that class as Hyunjin was with his own obsessions over the years. Hyunjin knew he was obsessed, and, being Hyunjin, wanting to know why, figure out what interested him so much, why he was so _focused_ on what looked like ritual sites in the middle of nowhere or sometimes in cities. They all had the same thing in common. A spiral like carving into the ground, and in the center, sometimes a wooden chair, sometimes a pole. And, small houses around the sites. Hyunjin saw the pictures, but Felix seemed paranoid about delving further into it. 

And of course, Hyunjin, being Hyunjin, wanted to know why.

Felix was not a friend of Hyunjin's, but he was in their friend group. Jisung and Seungmin made friends with him when Hyunjin dipped off the face of the Earth for a bit. He was sweet. Cares about others. Had a boyfriend who looked short but buff and if he wasn't taken he'd definitely be Hyunjin's type. He was homesick, and obviously anxious. There was never a time, Hyunjin noticed, where Felix didn't have his legs crossed towards the exit. He was extroverted, but didn't have many friends. Hyunjin was suspecting that Felix feared his normal was going to be disrupted by something. Like he'd have to leave. Again, acting on his paranoia.

Hyunjin knew it had something to do with the ritual sites, but felt too awkward with Felix despite having his number.

So instead of doing what a normal human would do, and leave it alone, Hyunjin decided to instead ask Felix to go hang out with him. Nothing too big. Just them, an arcade, and Hyunjin's awful lazer tag skills.

They had fun. Felix won, of course, but that's partly because he seemed to be slightly competitive, and by winning, hopefully he'd associate the happy memory with Hyunjin and he'd want to more casually hang out with him. Hyunjin had Felix almost wrapped around his finger. He thinks, maybe, he would be good at being in a cult. Funny too, because he was almost assimilated into one once. It's what started his obsession in the first place.

One hang out turned into two, turned into three, turned into every week they tried to at least meet up at a cafe or something. Hyunjin spent a lot of time at Felix's apartment but Felix never came over to Hyunjin's. Hyunjin never told him why either. Just that he couldn't. Felix accepted it with a shrug when they had the conversation. 

Hyunjin got Felix to trust him a lot easier than he thought it would take. He faked his way through a few philosophical conversations, forced himself to act sympathetic when Felix got into a few fights with his boyfriend, and Felix was suddenly asking him for advice. Telling him about his projects. It didn't take long to get Felix to trust him at all. Felix needed better boundaries. While this happened, Hyunjin noticed a stranger watching him intensely. Almost like the stranger knew Hyunjin was only comforting Felix for long term gain of nothing more than to give his curiosity an answer or answers to calm it for the time being until something else popped up that Hyunjin would be obsessed with.

"I'm going on a trip with Changbin." Felix said to Hyunjin as Hyunjin played with Felix's hair.

"Oh yeah?" Hyunjin asked. He treated these conversations as a game. Try to find out as much information as possible without being suspicious. He was good at it.

"Yeah. We're gonna go for two weeks. A road trip kind of thing. He even agreed to visit some of the sites I wanted to go to for my project- I'm hoping this fixes our relationship." Felix confessed. "I don't want to break up with him." He said.

"I hope it fixes up your relationship too lixie." Hyunjin said softly. "I'm glad someone's taking you to the sites. If I had a car- I would take you." He said, chuckling a little. Felix grinned. "Honestly, I think he's only taking me because he knows I would hitchhike and go there myself if I could." Felix laughed. Hyunjin laughed with him. It sounded genuine. Good.

Hyunjin didn't really know Changbin that well, besides that he was awkward. Didn't like being around a lot of people, and was very standoffish to anyone that tried to talk to him. Felix said he had social anxiety, but Hyunjin suspected it was something else. Changbin hated being in crowded places, and was either up very very early, or, until the late hours of the night. That's entirely normal for the average college student. But Changbin's classes were all early morning and late night. He managed to base his entire schedule around having late and early classes and was rarely seen by anyone. He always wore sunglasses with the claim of migraines and sensitive eyes, and seemed to never be tired or hungry. 

Hyunjin knew there was something going on with Changbin, but he didn't know what.

And he didn't feel right about Felix going on a trip with Changbin, honestly, but Felix had no long term effect on Hyunjin's life besides their status of platonic relationship. Felix knew a lot of people- a lot of people where if Hyunjin got curious about their lives, then he could probably get a lot closer to them introducing himself as the residential campus sunshine's best friend. 

So, he kept silent about his gut instinct telling Felix that going on that trip seemed like a bad idea.

And he ignored the man who was watching him and Felix from underneath the shade of one of the campus trees, sunglasses on, wearing all black, and blatantly watching them with his arms crossed as he leaned against the tree.

Minho.

The first time he really, truly meets Minho is in the library, when Hyunjin is studying for his class.

Minho sits down from across him and stares. Watches his movements as Hyunjin ignores the pretty man for five to ten minutes until he can finish his notes. Which, Hyunjin manages to do in a very organized fashion, carefully placing his notes in his binder before closing the rings and binder, setting it aside.

"Are you going to give me a name while you stare at me or should I just assume that my new cute stalker doesn't have one?" Hyunjin asked, calmly. He probably came off as uninterested, which wasn't at all the case. He was very interested, he just couldn't bring himself to really display that he was. 

"You're Interesting." The other comments.

"Hwang Hyunjin, actually, but yes I've been described that way before. You're coming off as awfully creepy, a name would be nice if I end up getting murdered." Hyunjin deadpanned, obviously joking towards the last part as he fluttered his eyelids slightly, the other letting out a strange snicker.

"Do you flirt with everyone who watches you?" The stranger asked.

"Only the ones who still look after I've caught them staring." Hyunjin responded, and for a moment, the stranger smirked.

"Minho." He said. "Lee Minho."

"It's nice to meet you, creepy stalker Lee Minho. Why are you talking to me?" Hyunjin asked, tilting his head, smiling politely. Not that he really cared. People just responded more to positive interaction. 

"You're Interesting Hwang Hyunjin." Minho said, and Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. "As you've previously said."

"What do you think of Felix's boyfriend?"

Perhaps Changbin and Minho were friends.

"Don't know him enough to really comment." Hyunjin dodged. "What do you think of Felix?"

"I don't know, sweet kid, seems very gullible when it comes to you. Naive, maybe even?" Avoided.

Hyunjin liked Minho. A challenge. "Oh no, I enjoy spending time with Felix, he's very sweet." Avoided again. "What about Changbin? I heard he doesn't like people much, he seems like an odd match for someone who's everyone's friend." Hyunjin asked.

"Doesn't get out much." Minho said simply. "You seem to spend a lot of time with Felix for someone who's rumored to suddenly appear after months of silence." Minho said.

"Rumored, huh? That's kind of neat, didn't know so many people knew." Hyunjin smirked. That might be useful. "I was sick." He lied. "But I like it when people use their imaginations." He said.

Minho smirked back. He got up and walked over to Hyunjin's side of the table, looping his leg over the bench with ease, scooting so close to Hyunjin that their bodies were nearly pressed together. Hyunjin was so caught off guard that he leaned back, but his legs were fully trapped under the table, so it's not like he could do much.

"You're obsessed." Minho whispered. It sent a chill down Hyunjin's spine. "A liar. It's cute." He murmured.

"Obsessed?" Hyunjin asked back, faltering slightly. Minho saw it. He used it as an opportunity to pull Hyunjin close to him, wrapping his arms around the other man's torso, right arm reaching and grabbing Hyunjin's neck. Hyunjin felt like he was stuck in place. He _should_ be panicking. He should be trying to wrestle Minho off him as he yells for help. That's what a normal person would do, and Hyunjin tried to appear as normal as possible.

"Obsessed with whatever Felix's stupid project is." Minho said from behind him. Hyunjin could practically feel his eyes roaming Hyunjin's back, Hyunjin's breath hitching.

"Why?" Minho asked, much closer than before. Hyunjin felt his face hovering over Hyunjin's neck.

"I'm...I-" Hyunjin was dumbfounded. He finally managed to speak. "I- I ...it's a puzzle." He sputtered out. "I was curious. Wanted to know." He said. 

Minho had their bodies completely pressed together now, and Hyunjin was entirely taken off guard by how cold the other was. He was also taken off guard by the fact that Minho started to _lick_ Hyunjin's ear, biting the tip _hard_ , Hyunjin unable to react when everything in his body was telling him to move away.

"You're cute." Minho commented, whispering in Hyunjin's ear.

"Love to be complimented by my stalker." Hyunjin responded, leaning into Minho's touch, not actually minding the feeling of his hand around his throat. It's not like he was choking him or anything. Minho watched him interestedly.

"You're obsessed." Minho murmured again, eyeing Hyunjin's neck. Hyunjin turned his head slightly so that he could make eye contact with Minho.

"So are you." He responded.

And so, the game began.

Three days later, five days since Changbin and Felix went on their trip, Hyunjin sees Minho in the hall before Minho makes eye contact with him and walks into a nearby room. Hyunjin, of course, follows like a lost puppy, not expecting to be so violently grabbed that his books would drop. He didn't really expect to be so suddenly kissing Minho either, but here he was, making out in a college building storage room, Minho taking him and guiding him against the shelves. Hyunjin's back hits it harshly, harsh enough to make the entire shelf shake, and then he's suddenly caught between the shelf and Minho, already feeling bruises starting to form on his back from the push, but too confused and excited to care.

Minho didn't seem to need to breathe, and soon keeping up this pace of kissing was starting to make Hyunjin's lungs burn so he tugged Minho away briefly, just to gasp for air. 

"Had enough already?" Minho asked, scoffing.

"God, no, I just need to breathe. You must've been in band or something to have unaffected lungs." He said, face red a little. 

"Your lips are soft."

"Many have said so."

"I like when you're trapped Hyunjin. You don't even seem to realize that you are sometimes." Minho whispered, and that feeling from the library came back. 

"What?" Hyunjin asked, raising an eyebrow. "You have a predator kink or something?"

"No. I'm like a god, it would be stupid to have a kink as primal as that." Minho said, scoffing. Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows. "Weird. But okay." 

Maybe he likes Minho better when they don't talk. But Minho has Hyunjin trapped against him and the bookshelf.

"I have a class soon." Hyunjin said.

"No you don't." Minho responded, leaning into Hyunjin. His face was freezing, lips pressed to Hyunjin's neck as he almost nuzzled the younger. Hyunjin must've been too caught up in the moment to realize.

"You smell good." Minho murmured, nose buried in Hyunjin's neck.

"Uhm...thanks?" Hyunjin said, laughing a little nervously. "I look better though." He said, suddenly having the urge to get away from the other.

Why did he let a stranger drag him into a supply closet and kiss him anyways? That was irrational thinking on Hyunjin's part. 

His back really hurt, and the pain was starting to ground him as he tried to carefully push Minho back, Minho pulling him closer as a response. "Don't." Minho warned. Hyunjin didn't like the tone of voice, but it's not like he could do anything. His pocket knife was in his bag, which he had dropped with his books. Minho was much stronger than him, which was proven by how he literally slammed Hyunjin into the shelf.

Everything in Hyunjin's body was telling him that Minho was dangerous and whatever was about to happen was only going to confirm this, but there was no real fear attached to it. Hyunjin wasn't scared. He was intrigued. God, Hyunjin couldn't take himself seriously.

God.

Minho said he was like a god.

A god complex? That might be it.

"Hey." Hyunjin said, wrapping his arms around Minho, Minho seeming to only respond more, melting at Hyunjin's touch. Hyunjin spoke softly. "You said you're like a god."

"I misspoke. To you I am a god." Minho said with a laugh. An amused laugh. Like he was in on a joke Hyunjin wasn't.

"Should I start calling you one then?" Hyunjin asked. "God Minho?" He said, testing how it felt on his tongue.

Minho froze under him, and Hyunjin could feel the smile underneath him.

"You're playing a very dangerous game Hwang Hyunjin." Minho warned, chuckling.

"You started it." Hyunjin whispered, eyes gleaming with excitement. He liked playing games. He definitely liked having someone to play with.

"So I did."

"And I'll be the one to finish it."

"Hmm...I like your confidence, dear."

_Dear._

Interesting.

"I like that you think it's just confidence." Hyunjin said with a grin.

The next time they see each other, Felix and Changbin are supposed to be coming back in four days. They're passing in the halls, and Hyunjin notices that Minho is wearing his sweater.

He would assume it to be coincidence at first if it wasn't the sweater a friend in his art class hand fabric painted for him. He stopped in the hall as he saw Minho walk past him with another person, Minho looking back to him and winking. Hyunjin should be terrified. He shouldn't be focusing on how cute Minho looks in his clothes. Minho broke into his apartment to get that sweater. Hyunjin never once wore it on campus. He was too scared to get something on it- it was a really comfortable sweater.

"Minho!" Hyunjin called. Minho didn't turn around. "Minho." He said again, rushing towards the other. Of course Minho wouldn't respond.

Hyunjin wrapped his arms around Minho, using his height to his advantage as he leaned in. "God." He whispered, getting the others attention almost immediately. "Yes, dear?" He asked.

"Cute sweater you're wearing. Can I ask where you got it?" He asked, ignoring the man who was walking with Minho, who seemed to be almost disgusted by the two and how they acted around each other.

"Of course dear. After all, it's a place you know well and visit regularly." Minho said, holding Hyunjin's arms as he slowly turned, hands snaking down to his waist. Minho shared a quick kiss with him before his lips traveled to Hyunjin's ear. "One could even say you _live_ there, if you frequent a place enough." He said, backing away from a stunned Hyunjin. Hyunjin had already known the answer, so he's not sure why Minho's answer startled him so much.

"You go there often?" Hyunjin asked, not making eye contact with Minho as he did so, Minho pausing. "I'd like to. Only been a few times."

When Hyunjin's home that night, he spends time cleaning. He doesn't know why. He just does. His crime fascination that lead to articles covering the walls of his home was evident in every room of the apartment. Sticky notes littered the walls and floors and Hyunjin never had the curtains open.

He took it all down, replacing it with some of his art pieces instead, just in case.

He found a couple of boxes to put everything in, shoving them into the back of his closet before flopping onto his bed with a pair of sweatpants on for the night, turning off his light when it was time to go to sleep.

Even though he couldn't.

He tried for what felt like hours, but he instead just ended up turning multiple times on his mattress, the bruises on his back having mostly healed, and Hyunjin having nothing to focus on to help him sleep.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

Hyunjin didn't even hear Minho come in. He should be calling the cops.

"A little. Yeah."

"I like what you've done with the place. Your art is nice." 

"Thanks. Figured I should make it look a little more presentable." Hyunjin said, shifting slightly in bed.

"Mmm...expecting guests?"

"No. I don't let anyone over. Just you." Hyunjin responded.

"Just me?"

A silence.

"Just god." 

Shifting cloth. Then a dip on the mattress.

"You made your house more presentable for your god? How do you know he'd enter such a low place?" Minho asked, hovering over Hyunjin.

"I didn't." Hyunjin's eyes were open and he was facing Minho now.

"Just in case your god came to visit? How cute." Minho drawled. "Do you know how long it'd take to cook you in a fryer, Hyunjin?" Minho asked. Hyunjin was taken off guard by the question. That gut feeling came back.

"I don't know." He said, trying to breathe evenly, realizing he was trapped under Minho. "Let's say 120 degrees. 20 minutes." Minho said.

"Okay." Hyunjin said.

"How long?" Minho asked, tilting up his head slightly. He looked like he was about to devour Hyunjin. Literally. 

"120 degrees." Hyunjin repeated. "20 minutes."

"Good job dear." Minho praised. He lowered his head slightly, nuzzling Hyunjin's neck. Hyunjin could feel now just how cold he was.

"Mmm...I'm too hungry to cook you though. Should I just eat my fill now?" Minho asked, looking at Hyunjin. Hyunjin stared into his eyes. They were bright gold now. Minho must've worn contacts in school. They were beautiful.

His brain felt like how static sounds. He couldn't think properly. He couldn't move his body either, except for his lips. He really only had Minho on his mind, not fully noticing how much harder it got to think.

"I'm…" his words were slurred, but he could still speak. "...it's up to you...god." 

He felt something dig into his neck- neck? The area between his neck and shoulder. It didn't hurt- in fact, it felt pleasant. Hyunjin gasped slightly at the uncomfortable feeling of what felt like something was being taken from him. He realized it was his blood. Minho was drinking his blood. He only realized because the warm substance was seeping onto the mattress under him and falling down his chest and he could feel it. It was weird. He wasn't the biggest fan.

And then he felt Minho's hot tongue against host skin and he realized Minho was lapping it up like a dog.

Hyunjin was on the verge of passing out, and Minho seemed to notice. He pulled out something- Hyunjin couldn't really see, his eyes were blurred. He heard shuffling and maybe Minho cussing? 

"Open your mouth." Minho ordered, and Hyunjin obeyed, eyes already shut. He could barely taste what was being spilled into his mouth, really just focusing on not choking. It was warm, like his blood, and he was pretty sure it had the same smell. It was rustic tasting- Minho better not be giving him tetanus.

When Minho guided Hyunjin's mouth closed and kissed him, Hyunjin swallowed, static clearing only to be replaced by burning. It spread quickly through his body. Hyunjin started sob, writhing in pain as he shifted in his bed, looking almost like a seizure. "Mi! Minho! God... please…" Hyunjin could barely get the words out as he felt Minho's hand in his own, squeezing it tightly as he cried out, his mouth being stuffed with something at some point to prevent him from screaming.

"I know, dear." Minho said. "It's awful isn't it?" He asked. "I wanted to wait but I won't even be with you our first days together because Changbin wants his bride so early...it's ridicolous." He sighed, moving Hyunjin's hair and comforting him. "But after this, we'll be together. And you'll live long enough to serve your god." Minho whispered, Hyunjin hanging onto his words by a thread as he whined, tears spilling as he tried to get the burning pain to stop. But it didn't. It wouldn't for hours.

"God, you're back to your weird ways." Seungmin sighed as he saw Hyunjin walk into the library with sunglasses on, wearing sweats and a hoodie.

"How'd you know?" He asked.

"Well you're not hungover, are you?"

"Fuck off my head hurts." Hyunjin snapped. It was the truth. It had been hurting since his weird ass dream. He groaned and sighed, Seungmin nonchalantly going in for a hug and Hyunjin pulling back. "Don't touch me." He said, an edge to his voice that kind of scared Seungmin. "Oh…" Seungmin said. "O-okay. Uh, weird, but okay. Maybe you should take the day off if you're not feeling well." Seungmin said. "You're meeting my friend Jeongin for the first time and I'd rather you not show up than be an asshole." Seungmin said.

"What, want me to dip off the face of the Earth again?" Hyunjin joked, sighing as he pulled up his hoodie. "I'll be fine." He said, shaking his head.

"Okay. If you say so."

Jeongin was pretty. He was nice too. Polite, and he enjoyed making Seungmin's life miserable. Hyunjin grew attached in a matter of minutes- not that anyone needed to know. After the three hour long study session where Hyunjin got almost nothing done, numbers were exchanged.

Ignoring the migraine he'd had for what felt like forever, he started on his new fixation. Jeongin. Jeongin was so pretty.

"You look at him a lot dear." Minho murmured, carding his fingers through Hyunjin's hair as the younger watched his new favorite talk with his old friends.

"I like him." Hyunjin said. "He's pretty." 

Minho chuckled. "You're also pretty." He said, and Hyunjin couldn't help but smile. "Thank you." He murmured, nuzzling into Minho's fingers more. "When will this headache go away?" He asked.

"After you first feed." Minho responded. "Do you want to feed on him?" He asked.

"I don't think so." Hyunjin said. "Maybe just play a game."

"One of your games? Oh dear."

"I have a lot of games. Some are fun! You're just a sore looser."

"I very clearly won our game."

"Did you?" Hyunjin asked and soon yelped as he was roughly pulled closer to Minho, dragged by his hair.

"You're my bride, aren't you?" Minho softly growled, nipping at Hyunjin's neck. Hyunjin gently seperated Minho from his poor neck, which was starting to be the subject of most of Minho's attacks.

"I am. And you're my god." Hyunjin responded, the words falling from his lips before he could register them. Even if he tried to say he wasn't, that was the response he'd have instead. Hyunjin learned it was a part of their...bond (that's what Minho called it), but it didn't seem as bad as Changbin's hold over Felix, who seemed to no longer have a single thought to himself. Hyunjin watched his friends. Someone else was with them.

"Who's that?" He asked, and Minho squinted. "It's Channie. I owe my life to him. I'd like to introduce you, considering you're going to have to make a lot of changes."

"I'm not gonna like, go bloodthirsty and eat my friends or anything, right?" Hyunjin asked, turning to Minho. "No, but I also know you don't care about them like that. What's the real concern?"

"Don't wanna expose myself or drop out of college." Hyunjin admitted.

"You'll be fine dear. Just follow my instructions." Minho said.

"Okay." Hyunjin said, leaning into Minho's touch.

Minho won the game.

Hyunjin didn't know it, but he was wrapped around the other's finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hyunjin and Minho's relationship is so odd in this one but next chapter is considerably worse so lmao


	3. My Forever.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “C’mon lix. Make this easier for me, hm?”
> 
> A new voice.
> 
> “Yongbokkie...I’m sure we can go home or whatever okay? Never talk about this again? I care about you, you know...It was just one slip up. Really.”
> 
> Manipulative.

_ ”Fuck.” _

_ Shuffling around. Panicked breathing. _

_ “Don’t trust anyone who knows about the project, Jisung. Do you fucking hear me?? Trust no one. And especially not Changbin or any fucking one of Changbin’s friends. That motherfucker knew about the towns before the ritual sites. He said they were uh…” _

_ Stuttering. Panic. Fear. _

_ “Fuck...he said they were Remakes of what old towns looked like. Around the sites. Towns must’ve been burned. And he said the dolls were onlookers. Don’t tell anyone about this.” _

_ Paranoia. Shuffling. Something had loudly crashed. Glass, maybe? Whatever it was, it was something that sent adrenaline running through the man’s body. There was silence. Panic, again. Then, barely above a whisper... _

_ “...Shit.” _

_ Far away background noise. Not too far. Just far enough to make it sound distant, but it must’ve been much closer in real time. _

_ “C’mon lix. Make this easier for me, hm?” _

_ A new voice. _

_ “Yongbokkie...I’m sure we can go home or whatever okay? Never talk about this again? I care about you, you know...It was just one slip up. Really.” _

_ Manipulative. _

  
  
  


"You're  _ what!? _ " Jisung screeches, looking at Felix and Changbin.

"Married. Legally. We'd like to have a small ceremony some day, but even that will be really expensive, so, we're thinking of throwing a small party." Felix said excitedly, from where he was firmly at Changbin's side.

"What?" Jisung looked between the newly wed couple, his boyfriend, and his friends.

"Okay, uh, I'm happy for you Lix, but can I talk to you for a second? I'm just a little confused about something." Jisung didn't wait for a response as he took Felix by the hand, Felix hesitantly detaching from Changbin's side as Jisung practically dragged Felix down to his room, slamming the door behind him. He then notices the sunglasses Felix still has fixed on his nose.

“Jesus christ.” Jisung muttered, holding the bridge of his nose.

“What?” Felix asked, tilting his head and blinking innocently, as if he hadn’t sent Jisung spiralling down in a panic attack of worry.

“No- you- you do not get to disappear for two weeks after a trip with your fucking boyfriend, come back looking completely different, attached to his hip with a ring on your finger after sending a  _ very _ worrying voicemail that had me almost filing and reporting you  _ missing _ by the way- only to tell me everything is cool and fine. You have got to be shitting me Lee Felix. Even Hyunjin didn’t pull this! And Hyunjin literally calls his fucking boyfriend god! Do you know how weird that is?” Jisung said, rubbing his temples harshly. His chest felt tight.

“I- I’m sorry Jisung. I was stressed. I thought… me and Changbin had an argument… but we sorted it all out now. We’re good now.” Felix said, frowning. “I really didn’t mean to upset you like this Jisung, you know that, right? I’d never do that on purpose to you. I care about you so, so much.” He said, stepping forward and taking Jisung’s arms in his own. Jisung was shaking. Was he about to cry? No, no… don’t cry Jisung. Don’t cry in front of your friend.

“I- I just-” 

_ Everyone has been acting so fucking weird. _

_ The last piece of you I have- the TRUE you- is that stupid fucking voicemail. But no one will listen to me. _

“Have you been taking your meds?”

Jisung’s blood ran cold.

“Of course I’ve been taking my fucking meds.” He snatched his hands away from Felix’s. “Why would you ask that? Of course I’ve been taking my meds Lixie. I take them every day. On the clock. I have an alarm set.” Jisung says. He’s defensive about it. Rightfully so. Felix is being an asshole for doubting him.

“Okay.” Felix smiles kindly, but Jisung doesn’t trust it. “Let’s go back outside then, okay? I miss everyone and I want to catch up. We’ll plan a little celebration we’re gonna do for my marriage a bit later and… I’d like you to be there. I don’t know if we’re gonna do anything similar to like, best men, you know, but if we did, you’d be my best man Sungie.” Felix’s voice is soft. Jisung calms down a little. Felix is acting weird but… he’s still Felix, right? Whatever happened couldn’t have been awful. It seemed to fix his and Changbin’s relationship.

“That… that means a lot.” Jisung responds. He feels numb. Off. Like he should have more of a response than he does.

“I’m glad.” Felix gives Jisung another warm smile that, like the first, Jisung doesn’t trust.

Jisung doesn’t smile back.

  
  
  


Jeongin was the new student. Not a freshman in college, no, just a transfer. Apparently, he had been in Japan before this. Jisung hadn’t asked much about his life beforehand, and he didn’t really seem interested in sharing it. One day, Seungmin showed up with the boy trailing behind him, explaining that they bonded over their shared experiences of growing up in weird households. For Seungmin, it’s with his famous actor aunt and uncle couple who use him to remind the public that they’re good people. A symbol of a nice religious family who do well in life and are kind hearted people.

For Jeongin, it’s having a few brothers and being raised in a temple, despite definitely not at all being religious, or following any temple rules, coming to college with dyed hair, a few tattoos, and multiple piercings. He had been accepted immediately into the friend group, and he had accepted the friend group… mostly. Superstition was a big part of his life, and whether or not he had rejected most of what he had been raised on, it was hard to shake habits out of him.

Jeongin had OCD. Probably. Undiagnosed. Small rituals that seemed to irritate him to no end, but he would be anxious if he couldn’t complete them at all. He moved in with Seungmin a month after being with their friend group, and Seungmin quickly caught onto Jeongin’s odd habits the first few days, watching the younger walk away from a closed door, only to turn around, open it, then close it again.

Turn around, start to walk away, thinking he was fine, only to quickly frown, turn around again, and repeat. He’d do this a few times in the hall before he seemed satisfied at reaching the number eight. At eight he stopped, then he would turn around again and would leave, going on with his day. On good days, it was five.

Jeongin couldn’t have windows or doors open. Everything needed to be closed at all times. Sometimes, it was okay, and on good days, he was fine, grabbing food out of the pantry and plates out the cabinets, carefully shutting them when he was done, going on about his day, leaving the kitchen content. Other days, he didn’t even leave his room, staring the door down like it was his mortal enemy.

He smoked a lot, which didn’t really bother anyone, since Jisung, Felix, and Hyunjin had all been serial smokers. Well, Felix hadn’t touched a cigarette since he’d gotten back from his trip, so Jisung assumed whatever happened hadn’t been all bad. Jeongin smoked like his life depended on it. It probably did. He never used a box or pack for his smokes, having cigarettes carried loosely in his bag. Jisung didn’t understand why, because sometimes they were slightly bent, or just looked a little more like they had been in a backpack (which they  _ had _ been), but he realized it was because Jeongin hated the texture of the boxes.

When they stopped at a store and Jeongin brought a pack he handled the box with his shirt, stuffing it into his back pocket until he got home. His hands shook and his breathing leveled out as soon as the cigarette was between his lips. Sometimes it wasn’t even lit. He just let it sit there for a minute before lighting it, like lighting it at that point had become an obligation.

Jisung liked Jeongin. Jisung liked how well he fit in his friend group. He certainly liked him more than Minho and Changbin. Sure, they brought Chan along with them, and Chan is his boyfriend, so he should be thankful, he guesses, but… even when looking at them now, during his break between his two afternoon classes today… there’s just something… off about them. 

He doesn’t like how possessive Changbin is of Felix. It’s like he’s got Felix on a leash, and Felix doesn’t even try to speak out anymore. Once, Felix had excitedly smiled to greet Jisung when he saw him at a cafe, but Changbin pulled him away. Felix had frowned, but turned. And since, Jisung hasn’t liked Changbin one bit. Chan keeps vouching for Changbin, telling him that he’s the nicest person he has ever known, and he’s just a bit awkward, he doesn’t pick up on social cues. Jisung doesn’t buy a fucking second of it.

And Minho… Minho is just odd.

In any other world, Jisung might call Hyunjin and Minho the perfect match, honestly.

Hyunjin was basically Jisung’s childhood friend. Maybe childhood nemesis, before they became friends. It had been kinda disgusting, their enemies-to-almost-lovers trope. Literally. Hwang had a crush on Han in their 2nd year of highschool, only for that to be switched their 3rd year of highschool, only for them to learn they’re incompatible fucks who should never, ever,  _ ever _ date each other.

The point is, Jisung has lived a longer amount of his life with Hyunjin in it than Hyunjin out of it. Seungmin joined them in high school, but even then, high school was kind of fucking awful, and Jisung swears Seungmin liked them because they were the only two people who could consistently form coherent sentences. Both verbally, and on paper.

But then Hyunjin fell off the face of the earth.

Literally.

He didn’t respond to Seungmin or Jisung’s calls or text messages, and he had become so hard to find that for the few days Jisung showed up at his apartment he wasn’t there. 

Jisung is hurt. He’s worried. He hopes whatever is going on with Hyunjin, he’s okay. He does this, occasionally, self-isolate. Time seems to be the best way to cure it. To just give him time. The longest it ever seemed to last was two months at most.

Two months turns into three months.

Jisung meets a nice boy named Felix, from Australia. He’s sweet, and he’s doing some dual major in dance and history. They find out their birthdays are on the same day, and he sits with Jisung and Seungmin out at their weekly meetings at the park.

Three months turns into four months.

Felix has become a good friend in their friend group. Jisung and Seungmin both really like him, and he likes them both as well. He’s no Hyunjin, but he doesn’t want to be, and they don’t really want him to be either. Jisung has a breakdown over his childhood friend, but Felix offers to become his roommate to break the overwhelming loneliness he was feeling since Hyunjin left. Jisung agreed.

Four has turned into five.

Seungmin considers moving in with them too. He’s been looking for a new roommate, since Hyunjin and Jisung are really his only friends. Jisung and Felix were making preparations for him to move in, but he ended up postponing, getting himself a small puppy he calls “minnie”. Felix tells Jisung about the project he’s been doing for his History assignment. Jisung thinks Felix is paranoid, but lets it go. He visits Seungmin almost every day to see that goddamn puppy.

Half a year has gone by.

Jisung has given up.

He thinks Hyunjin has forgotten about him, moved away.

Then, like magic, out of nowhere, Hwang Hyunjin appears again.

At first, Jisung is angry.

He should be  _ furious. _

Hyunjin cut off all contact and just  _ dipped _ for what, 6 months?

But he comes back glowing, with a long black mullet only Hyunjin could pull off, a changed wardrobe that screams cleaned up yet kinda sexy- he gives a charming smile and tilts his head like he used to and Jisung is just glad he’s back.

“What were you even doing?” Jisung asks, the three in the college’s  _ large _ cafeteria building, leaving the line of a boba tea and chicken shop, the three all carrying their orders in their hands. 

“I dunno I just kinda… needed time to myself.” Hyunjin answers vaguely, shrugging.

“I like the hair.” Seungmin says. “You didn’t cut it?”

“Nah. Dyed it black. It looks good right?” Hyunjin said smugly, chuckling a little as he gently bounced his hair slightly.

Hyunjin was a lot more reserved. That’s what Jisung noticed right off the bat. He used to be loud, almost obnoxiously so- but it was endearing in a way. Now? Now, Hyunjin’s lips were almost sealed shut in a permanently polite smile; he never seemed to sway from a kind expression. Sure he laughed at jokes, and he cracked his own- but even then, his laugh was suppressed and his voice was soft. His eyes flicked over someone, and he’d change his demeanor instantly based on a reaction. It was almost...unsettling, if you paid close enough attention. He went from having a personality to almost having created one. Jisung only noticed because he knew him for so long.

“What about that stupid murder shit you were into?” Jisung blurted out, almost accusingly. “Or the cult shit? Or the murder shit? Or the-” Hyunjin snorted, waving his hand.

“I’m over it.” He said. “All of it.” He paused. “I mean, obviously it influenced my decision to go into crime forensics and what not but, I’m over it.”

“You’re really over it?? All of it? Of god, you didn’t murder someone did you?” Seungmin asked, mortified.

“Yeah. I mean, no! I didn’t murder anyone, calm down. I just decided to focus on my career and stuff. Since I can’t get the dance scholarship I’ll just focus on my art and forensic science stuff instead.” Hyunjin responded.

Jisung spotted Felix, waving him over. Felix waved over, with a bag of what looked like homemade food in his hand.

“Hey!” He sat down next to Jisung, across from Seungmin, whereas Jisung had been across from Hyunjin. “Who’s this?” He asked, smiling.

“Felix, Hyunjin, Hyunjin, Felix.”

“Oh!” The name clicked with the Australian immediately, the freckled boy holding out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  
  
  


Just like that, the four fell into a routine. Once a week, between classes, they met at the park, lounging on the grass, eating Friday’s lunch since they had the least amount of classes that day, spending hours together. Some mornings, at ass-o’clock in the morning, when Felix woke up to watch his boyfriend work out in one of the 24-hour gyms, and Jisung couldn’t sleep; when Hyunjin had been awake and never specified the reason to anyone and Seungmin had been forcibly dragged out of the study room of the college’s library, they were found leaning against the music building, huddling together. Their laughs were loud as they chatted, definitely sleep deprived and not making much sense at all, but making enough sense. Hyunjin, Jisung, and Felix all have cigarettes lit, and are inhaling smoke while Seungmin downs a couple of cups of coffee he can barely taste, the liquid scalding down his throat. It’s weird, but it works for them.

Minho is weird, and he does  _ not _ work for Hyunjin. Jisung has similar thoughts about Changbin and Felix.

When Felix is so swept off his feet that after a few weeks of having his boyfriend (that Jisung hadn’t even met yet), he moves out, Jisung was expecting to become roommates with Hyunjin or Seungmin naturally. Seungmin, probably, as they had already talked about it.

Instead, Hyunjin gets distracted by  _ Minho. _

_ Minho _ , who’s an extremely odd man. He talks to no one except for Changbin, at least, that Jisung sees at first. 

He seems to… cast a spell over Hyunjin. No, that’s dumb. There’s something about him that’s compelling to Hyunjin. That Hyunjin understands immediately, and Jisung just can’t grasp.

Hyunjin calls Minho  _ god _ , and it’s kind of fucking weird.

  
  
  


“What the hell is with your boyfriend and his weird ass god complex?” Jisung asks him one day, taking a drag from his cigarette. Hyunjin laughs, arms crossed. He paused to put his own cig between his lips, inhaling the smoke and then exhaling. The sun was rising.

“He thinks it’s cute when I call him that.” Hyunjin said. His eyes sparkled. He was infatuated.

“Oh my god.” Seungmin groaned, Felix snorting at his choice of words. Seungmin groans again and the group erupts into laughter. 

“Not smoking Felix?” Jisung asked, noticing the other was chewing gum and had brought a thermos of tea. He was shivering in the cold as he shook his head. “No.” He responded. “Binnie wants me to stop smoking.” He said.

“That reminds me, when are we gonna meet this binnie of yours?” Seungmin asked curiously.

“Do we really want to? I bet he’s even weirder than Minho.” Jisung said with a snort.

“Anytime. Well, after a trip. He’s taking me up to a few sights for my history final, and then when we come down I’m sure we can arrange something, with all of us.” Felix said with a smile.

“Of course.” Hyunjin said with a smile. “Besides, Jisung’s just salty anyways because he’s still single.”

“No, I’m rightfully skeptical because your taste in men is questionable at best.”

“My taste seems to spill into friendships as well…”

“Hey!”

The group erupted into laughter once more.

Felix smiled brightly, red hair, prominent freckles, tan skin, and all.

  
  
  


Chan is… everything Jisung has ever wanted in a man. He’s muscular. He’s adorable, yet handsome. He’s slightly only taller than Jisung, but definitely has a bigger-

...uh,  _ personality. _

The point is, Jisung wants to squish his cute classmate’s dimples, and also get railed by Bang Christopher Chan, his partner for his music final.

It was really,  _ really _ surprising when Chan confessed to reciprocating those feelings.

Well, the crush part. He never really specified anything about the other part.

Jisung was a little surprised to find out that Chan and Changbin were close friends, but Chan, as Jisung quickly learns, is friends with  _ everyone _ . He tries to think nothing of it. Maybe he’s misjudging Changbin based off of just some odd miscommunications? Yeah, maybe that’s it.

It doesn’t really bother Jisung that Chan doesn’t sleep often, because Jisung doesn’t either. They often spend nights curled up in Chan’s bed, wide awake, just cuddling because they can. Jisung loves the way Chan will stroke his hair and hold him like he’s the most important thing in the world.

It doesn’t bother Jisung that Chan doesn’t like eating in front of people. He explains that he gets anxious about it, and Jisung says that as long as he’s eating, he doesn’t mind. Chan seems to be very healthy, albeit a little pale. He has a lot of muscle built up, so he obviously must be sneaking snacks in throughout his day somehow.

Jisung isn’t bothered by Chan’s inability to be out long. He understands it, and is a bit of a hermit himself. He hates huge crowds, and Chan complains about migraines when they spend more than a couple of hours out at a time. Jisung understands. He’s content with their little domestic relationship. Jisung stays over often, cooking for himself and making food for Chan to eat later, seeing the food gone when he walks into the kitchen later, a sense of achievement and pride blooming in his chest.

It’s not until his third meeting with his friends without Felix that he starts to get paranoid.

  
  
  


“Hey, has anyone been able to reach Lix?” Jisung askes, scrolling through his myriad of unseen messages. He takes a drag, nonchalantly squinting at his phone screen. Felix should be back in three days.

“No.” Hyunjin said, shrugging. “I gave him a few calls but he didn’t pick any up. He told us a few of the sites would be out of range though didn’t he?”

“But not all of them.” Seungmin said, sipping his coffee.

  
  
  


_ ”Fuck.” _

_ Shuffling around. Panicked breathing. _

_ “Don’t trust anyone who knows about the project, Jisung. Do you fucking hear me?? Trust no one. And especially not Changbin or any fucking one of Changbin’s friends. That motherfucker knew about the towns before the ritual sites. He said they were uh…” _

_ Stuttering. Panic. Fear. _

_ “Fuck...he said they were Remakes of what old towns looked like. Around the sites. Towns must’ve been burned. And he said the dolls were onlookers…? Don’t tell anyone about this.” _

_ Paranoia. Shuffling. Something had loudly crashed. Glass, maybe? Whatever it was, it was something that sent adrenaline running through the man’s body. There was silence. Panic, again. Then, barely above a whisper... _

_ “...Shit.” _

_ Far away background noise. Not too far. Just far enough to make it sound distant, but it must’ve been much closer in real time. _

_ “C’mon lix. Make this easier for me, hm?” _

_ A new voice. _

_ “Yongbokkie...I’m sure we can go home or whatever okay? Never talk about this again? I care about you, you know...It was just one slip up. Really.” _

_ Manipulative. _

  
  
  


Jisung doesn’t know how to react to this. He- fuck,  _ everyone _ knew about Felix’s stupid fucking project, he was obsessed with it.

“Babe!” Chan called. “I have a surprise for you!” 

Fuck.

He was so  _ fucked. _

“Coming!”

He came down the stairs, expecting maybe Chan to be holding up a puppy (unrealistic mind), or for him to take Jisung on a surprise date (slightly more realistic mind).

Instead, he was met with…

...Felix.

Felix who looked…

Almost completely different.

His hair was  _ much _ longer, almost ridiculously so for just being gone for only a few weeks. It was also white. Like, gray white. A lot like Hyunjin’s hair after he mysteriously took a week off of school. He was paler. The areas around his eyes were red and purple. He looked sick, but still… pretty? It was hard to explain. The weirdest part was the sunglasses he was wearing.

“Are you stoned?” Jisung dumbly asked. Felix laughed out loud. His voice had always been weirdly deep but it sounded... different. Velvety? Fuckin weird? Sexy, even? God, is Jisung having a fever dream right now?

“No! I’m not stoned! I just have a mild headache. But that’s not important!” Felix held his arms wide for a hug, and hesitantly, Jisung gave him one. Felix’s grip was literally bone crushing. Jisung knew he had worked out because of dance but… jesus fucking christ. This is kind of weird.

Then Jisung noticed the fact that everyone  _ else _ was there.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“A small halloween party!” Chan speaks now, from where he was. Wait- when did he come downstairs?

“Halloween…?”

“Well, and celebration.” Felix said, chuckling softly.

“Celebration?” Jisung asks. “Celebration for what?”

“Well, I mean, we’re getting married.” Changbin said, smiling kindly as he looked down at Felix.

"You're  _ what!? _ " Jisung screeches, looking at Felix and Changbin.

"Married. Well, legally, we already are. We'd like to have a small ceremony some day, but even that will be really expensive, so, we're thinking of throwing a small party." Felix said excitedly, from where he was firmly at Changbin's side.

"What?" Jisung looked between the newly wed couple, his boyfriend, and his friends.

"Okay, uh, I'm happy for you Lix, but can I talk to you for a second? I'm just a little confused about something." Jisung didn't wait for a response as he took Felix by the hand, Felix hesitantly detaching from Changbin's side as Jisung practically dragged Felix down to his room, slamming the door behind him. He then notices the sunglasses Felix still has fixed on his nose.

“Jesus christ.” Jisung muttered, holding the bridge of his nose.

“What?” Felix asked, tilting his head and blinking innocently, as if he hadn’t sent Jisung spiralling down in a panic attack of worry.

“No- you- you do not get to disappear for two weeks after a trip with your fucking boyfriend, come back looking completely different, attached to his hip with a ring on your finger after sending a  _ very _ worrying voicemail that had me almost filing and reporting you  _ missing _ by the way- only to tell me everything is cool and fine. You have got to be shitting me Lee Felix. Even Hyunjin didn’t pull this! And Hyunjin literally calls his fucking boyfriend god! Do you know how weird that is?” Jisung said, rubbing his temples harshly. His chest felt tight.

“I- I’m sorry Jisung. I was stressed. I thought… me and Changbin had an argument… but we sorted it all out now. We’re good now.” Felix said, frowning. “I really didn’t mean to upset you like this Jisung, you know that, right? I’d never do that on purpose to you. I care about you so, so much.” He said, stepping forward and taking Jisung’s arms in his own. Jisung was shaking. Was he about to cry? No, no… don’t cry Jisung. Don’t cry in front of your friend.

“I- I just-” 

_ Everyone has been acting so fucking weird. _

_ The last piece of you I have- the TRUE you- is that stupid fucking voicemail. But no one will listen to me. _

“Have you been taking your meds?”

Jisung’s blood ran cold.

“Of course I’ve been taking my fucking meds.” He snatched his hands away from Felix’s. “Why would you ask that? Of course I’ve been taking my meds Lixie. I take them every day. On the clock. I have an alarm set.” Jisung says. He’s defensive about it. Rightfully so. Felix is being an asshole for doubting him.

“Okay.” Felix smiles kindly, but Jisung doesn’t trust it. “Let’s go back outside then, okay? I miss everyone and I want to catch up. I don’t know if we’re gonna do anything similar to like, best men, if we do a real ceremony or anything but, you know, but if we did, you’d be my best man Sungie.” Felix’s voice is soft. Jisung calms down a little. Felix is acting weird but… he’s still Felix, right? Whatever happened couldn’t have been awful. It seemed to fix his and Changbin’s relationship.

“That… that means a lot.” Jisung responds. He feels numb. Off. Like he should have more of a response than he does.

“I’m glad.” Felix gives Jisung another warm smile that, like the first, Jisung doesn’t trust.

Jisung doesn’t smile back.

“Let’s go back out, then, yeah?” Felix said, leading Jisung back out to the room full of eight people. Eight uncomfortably silent people.

“We sorted it out.” Jisung said with a forced smile.

“Good. That’s good.” Minho said, smiling. “I’d be such a shame to see such close friends break apart over something like that.” He murmured.

_ ‘I don’t even know you’ _ Jisung thought, letting Felix lead him to Chan and Changbin. They passed by Seungmin and Jeongin- and Jisung furrowed his eyebrows. “Hey, is Jeongin okay?” He whispered to Felix.

“Hyunjin told me he wasn’t feeling well but he still wanted to try and make the party since it...also doubles as a wedding celebration and all. I told him we could reschedule, but he refused.” Felix whispered back, and Jisung nodded. Jeongin had his hoodie pulled up and his own pair of sunglasses, and wasn’t really talking. He was attached to Hyunjin, who had one arm slung around the other.

Weird.

“Hey, love. Did Felix ask you?” Chan asked, grinning.

“To be his best man if they have a  _ ceremony _ ceremony? Yeah. I said yes.” Jisung said, smiling as he leaned into Chan’s touch.

“That’s good. That’s good.” Chan chuckled, humming. Music was playing now, quietly humming through some bluetooth speaker somewhere. “Want a drink?” He asked, holding up a beer. Jisung nodded, taking it. “You know exactly what I need on halloween, don’t you?” Jisung asked, chuckling. Chan grinned as Jisung easily drank at least a third of it in one go.

Jisung looked around. He had never really taken a good look at Chan’s apartment before. Even when he was over, he really only spent time in the kitchen or in Chan’s room. Now, in the living room, he noticed the paintings underneath shitty dollar store halloween decorations. They were pictures of old, almost victorian houses. Stand alones. The one that caught his eye was one of a white house that looked like the paint was peeling. He took another swig from the bottle of beer.

_ “...he said they were remakes of what old towns looked like. Around the sites. Towns that must’ve been burned…” _

Jisung hummed as he slowly detached from Chan, slowly making his way around the living room. He noticed that on the bookshelf Chan had in the corner of the room, there were books- there were a lot of them. There were also dolls. Porcelain. Similar gray, white, or blond hair. Blue and gray eyes, intricate dresses- if it wasn’t for the old timey clothes, Jisung would’ve thought honestly, that they were doll replicas of Felix or of Hyunjin.

_ “...and he said the dolls were onlookers…?” _

Jisung squinted at the doll for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. He tried to stand up straight, but he felt dizzy. The world started to spin.

_ “...don’t trust anyone who knows about the project, Jisung… trust no one, and especially not Changbin or any fucking one of Changbin’s friends.” _

Trust no one.

Even if Felix meant himself.

Jisung turned to see the entire group staring at him. His body was starting to go slack and he could barely hold himself up.

“What-” He gasped out, only for his body to crumble. He never hit the floor.

No, someone was holding him.

No- he had been drugged, they had been expecting him to fall.

“Shhh...shhh...shh. This will be quick, okay love?” Chan’s voice was the only thing that Jisung could hear. Had the music stopped?

No, they were moving the couch now. What the hell?

A spiral. 

There was a fucking  _ spiral _ in the floorboards.

“Felix…” Jisung choked out, eyes widening slightly. He couldn’t move of his own will. This was fucking terrifying.

Felix just gave him a small smile, cupping his face gently. His sunglasses were off. When had he taken off his sunglasses? His eyes were icy blue.

“It’s okay.” Felix whispered. “I was scared at first too. But just think, sungie, when you get married, I’ll be your best man too.” He coaxed the other, rubbing his thumb against Jisung’s cheek.

Jisung felt something sharp pierce through his skin between his shoulder and neck. He couldn’t let out a scream. It burned, it burned so bad- Jisung was overwhelmed. He knew he was crying, from the way Felix coaxed him, telling him he was doing a good job. Something was leaving him. Something was being- no, sucked! Something was being sucked out of him! He tried to tell Felix but it came out garbled, like he was a baby babbling. Felix simply shushed him, still rubbing his thumb against his cheek.

_ “No!”  _ Jisung wanted to scream.  _ “No! Please, Felix, help me! Please!” _

And maybe Felix was helping him in some way, as he’d later learn.

Maybe when Chan bit harshly down onto his own wrist and forced Jisung to swallow down his blood, even when it burned- and Felix was there, coaxing him, it helped a little. Not much, but a little.

Maybe when Jisung was so out of it that the only thing he could register was how sick he was, Felix helped a little.

Maybe, when Jisung woke up to find himself with bleach blonde hair that was slightly longer than it had been before and pale gray eyes, married to Chan, with two very pointy teeth in his mouth, Felix helped.

Don’t trust anyone, he had said.

It was far too late for that.

**Author's Note:**

> ye


End file.
